Earth anchor



March 23, 1954 R. O. MEAD ETAL EARTH ANCI-IORA Filed Sept. 22, 1951' IN VEN TORS feas a. MEAD CHAQL Es @Rams/rw BY n vearth anchors, and more vanchor adapted to be inserted in a prepared hole 'in the ground and then extended Vto serve as a Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE y 2,672,961 EARTH ANCHOR Roy o. Mead, Gilroy, anja Charles Grunsky, San Francisco, Calif.

Application september 22, 1951, serial No. 247,778 13 claims. .(ol. 18s- 92) This invention relates to an improvement in particularly to the type brace for use in connection with a guy wire for staying telegraph, telephone, and electric trolley poles, stacks, derricks, and the like. The devices of thevprior art are unduly complicated in that numerous parts are required, and in some cases machined components, such as, helical screws, cams, spring arrangements, rack and pinion and other types of gears or any combination thereof also add to the expense of manufacture of these devices. |The purpose yof lsuch components is Quite frequently such arrangementsrequire that complicated tools be used for forcing the flukes to their holding positions. Other prior art devices are required to be set (or expanded) by manual labor, such as pounding the flukes into position, and in most cases such expansion of the ukes disturbs the earth surrounding the prepared hole with attendant loss in holding power of the completed installation.

Accordingly, an important purpose of the Dresent invention is the provision of an earth anchor which is surliciently non-complex as to admit of economy in the manufacture thereof, yet is rugged enough to serve as a suitable fastening. Preferably, the structure of the present invention comprises a plurality of stacked bladesjor disks which may be longitudinally alined preparatory to insertion into the previously bored ground'hole. Some or all of the blades may then be extended` transversely into the surrounding ground to. occupy adjacent holding y these blades may present a large anchoring'ar'ea, the axis of extension is taken at a point near' the blade peripheries. Thus a guide pin is inserted through all of the blades at this point `to serve as the pivot for the blades when they are' extended. A shoulder or flange is eccentrically secured to this pin and serves in one purpose to prevent` longitudinal movement of the blades. A stubis positioned on the upper surface of the to serve asa bladevdriving means. The shoulder is also adapted tov receive an anchor driving tool which has an arm extended to project along the upper surface of the top blade, -thus forming an abutting engagement with the blade [driving means. With this arrangement rotation ofthe anchorI driving tool serves to to'h their holding position.

top bladel expand theblades Vv5.5

positions. In order thatC The present invention may be modified .to the extent that a tubularsleeve eccentrically flared at one end suffices to replace the guide pin and shoulder. The flared end lof this sleeves serves as the attachment for the anchor driving tool and in so doing permits slight tow-in beneath the are and hence provides a desirable gripping surface for the driving tool. Such a component is less expensive to manufacture than the guide pin and eccentrically positioned shoulder combina.- tion and hence is desirable, as well, from the economical standpoint.

The anchor driving tool may comprise a sleeve which is adapted to t over the augerwhich originally drilled the hole, and hence may aord an extremely powerful driving mechanism. Rotation of the auger and the sleeve attachment serves to move the upper blade to its extended position which thus places the stub at a position radially opposite from the point of greatest shoulder eccentricity. Hence the arm of the anchor driving means falls short of engagement with the stub and further rotation of the top blade is prevented.

Thisfeature of the invention is very desirable as it permits the employment of a powerful blade extending means which otherwise would not be possible because the angle or revolution of the driving means would necessarily be confined to less than 360. Power driving means are ordinarily designed for continuous rotation and hence structural changesV would otherwise necessarily be demanded.

In order that successively lower positioned blades of the stack may be moved 'to their extended positions, depending lugs are provided along the periphery of the upper blades.v The purpose of these lugs Lis to engage the next successive lower blade and permit rotation of it to its extended position in accordance with movement ofthe blade adjacently positionedv above. In the alternative and also to simplify the manufacture of the blades, they may be dented near the peripheries thereof to provide downwardly extending projections which suffice to replace the lugsr The blades may be further modified to include strength adding corrugations providing such corrugations lie alo-11g areas centered at the axis of extension. l

An anchor bolt may serve as the vertical exten-` sion from the anchor to be attached. This bolt y wise as desired. Preferably,however, the anchor. bolt extends through the guide pin and is secured 3 against withdrawal therefrom by means ofv a nut attachment on the lower end of the bolt. Further, it is usually desirable to provide a keel to secure the lower blade against rotation.

Thus the instant invention provides a relatively simple yet rugged structure which is readily ex-` tended into operating position by the accessible auger drilling tool.

Accordingly, among the obj ects of this invention is: the Vprovision-of an'anchori'ng device capable of quiclinstallnent; the provision of an anchor device which is extremely rugged in character; the provision of a device which when extended presents a large holding area; a device which is capable of being expandedl intoV the surrounding earth with minimum disturb'v ance to the earth; the provision of a device which may be readily extended means; the provision of a device which is cooperatively expanded from a main driving means; and the provision of a device which is relatively free from machined parts and hence economical in manufacture.

Other and further objects of. the present invention will be apparent from a reading of` the following detailed description thereof when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

' Fig. 1 is aplan view showing typical structure embodied in an anchor device of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device of Fig. l as shown in its extended position;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of Fig. 1 takenalong the plane 3--3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3a. is a detailed viewY in perspective of the guide pin, eccentrically positioned shoulder and theanchorbolt in position;

Fig.' 3b is a view in perspective showing a modified form of an anchor blade positionedrfor revolution about an eccentricallyared tube; and;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevationl of the structure; of Fig. 2 as viewed along the plane 4--4 and looking in the direction of the arrows. A

`Referring now to the drawings, andf'rst-'particularly to'fFigs. l andf2, aset of disks -or blades numbered. I, 3, andy 5, respectively, are adapted toserve as the ground securing means for the anchor of the present invention. For purposes oflillustration, three such blades are shown, but obviously two 4or more than threecould-be `suit-- ably'employed. An axis of extension is provided for the blades by a guide pin 1 which is best shown'in Figi 3a. As may be seen in Fig. l, ther guide pin 1 is positioned near the peripheryof the blades so that the blades-in-their expanded position (as shown in Fig. 2) may present a very large holding area. The guide pin `1- is provided with' an eccentrically positioned ange or shoulder 9,'which shoulder serves in one` purpose to prevent longitudinal ymovement of the blades (Figi 3).

A-"ve'rtical anchor bolt II is extended'frorn the anchor to serve as the attachment for the guy wiresv at or above the ground surface. This bolt is'secured to the anchor at the guide pin 1'by means ofy the nut I3 which is adapted to bear against the lower end of the guide pin. A washer or collar I5 may be provided between the guide pin 1 and the nut 1.3 if desired. obviousiylthe anchor' bolt could be secured to the,y guide pin by meansof threaded engagement or welding or other'means of attachment. The lower blade 5; is preferably secured to the` guide pin 1 by'means l the provision of by` a powerful driving of the annular weld I6. Thus a rigid attachment. is completed from the anchor rod to the blades. Also, welded or bolted to the under side of blade 5 is a keel 5 which is adapted to extend into the earth and thus prevent movement of the lower blade.

As was earlier mentioned, it is highly desirable that a very powerful driving means may be employed to extend the blades into the surrounding earth. However, the expanded position of the blades, as is shown in Fig. 2, makes it apparent that the top blade I is only extended through an angle of 240 (in the case of the three-blade anchor illustrated) from the bottom blade 5, and the middle blade 3 is moved 120 from its original position. The angle of revolution of each blade may be determmed from the expression O Nee) where n is the total number oij blades and N is the blade number in the stack with the lowermost bladebeing number Il. Unless a means of disengaging the driving device at the proper instantv is provided,y the blades would necessarily dig up the surrounding earth due to extensive revolutions, and hence loss in holding power of the anchor would result. The present invention, accordingly, provides a method of disengagng the blades from the driving means when they have reached their desired holding positions. The driving means may comprise the auger (not shown) which was originally employed to drill the anchor hole. This auger may be. tted with a sleeve extension- I'I (Figs. 3 and 4) which is adapted to slidably fit over shoulder 9 and to rest'on the top surfaceof the blade I. The bore ISjof the sleeve need only be large enough to accommodate the anchor bolt, provided the sleeve is sumciently flanged and recessed to enable it to encompass the shoulder 9. 'This sleeve is further provided with an-arm I9 which extends along the upper surface of blade I. An upriser or stub 2| is located on the upper surface of blade I, at a position which is opposite the extremitycf the arm I9 when the blades are in'their stacked condition,

gages disk 3,' thereby tion of the blades.

asvshown in Fig. l. An engaging abutment is formed between,` the arm and stub so that rotation of the auger-extends blade I into the surroundingearth. This blade is the .only one which is movedlduringpthe initial rotation of the auger, A depending lug `23 is provided at a point on theV periphery, of blade I. The location of thislug is such that after the disk I has been revolved through an angle of 120, the lug 23 enimparting movement to this blade. A depending lug 24 is also provided at a pointjalong the periphery of blade 3 such that it engagesthepperiphery of vblade 5 after the blade 3 has been moved through an angle of 120. Thus suchjengagement insuresagainst any excessive revolution of blade' 3.1.

As theA shoulder!!! iseccentrically positioned on the guide pin 1, the axis of revolution of the sleeve I'I is displaced from'the axis of revolu- This displacement is such that. abutting engagement between the arm I9 andstub 2| .exists only until the` upper blade I is moved to its 'desired position. lDueto theeccentricity of thev flange ror shoulder 9, the sleeve arm ISthen disengages from thestub 2I and hence the auger isfree to rotate.

InFig.` 3b` there .is, shown a modied blade 2ll positioned -iorrotation about a tube 29 ,whichis eccentrically lilared at thev .end 29'- thereof. The

vthis driving Ament of the complete a' minimum.

`guide .pineccentrically positioned .of the blades for securing said blades in stacked relationship and for permitting rotation of the .blades about said pin as an axis, a blade motion .of the 4upper blade being less than 360 s' blade 21. may be stamped from a metal-blankdn which case Aa corrugatio'n 3l .strengthen the blade.

is providedto lThe blade is dentednear its l*periphery* to form al downwardly extending projection 33,I the purpose of which is identical f to that of the stubs.23 and 24. Whena number of such. modiedblades are employed in an anchor device,rthe corrugations and indentations must be so located in the respective blades that stacked relationship.

circle whose center Ylies along'the axis .of extension, i. e., along the'axis of tube 29. The tube r-29 may be formed, for example, by rolling or off center boringfin-such manner that the flare 29' is eccentric withrespect to the tube axis. Thus sleeve l1 may tend to-Ltoe-in against the tube L29 beneath the periphery of the flared end 29', thereby providing desirable` engagement between tool sleeve I1 and ther ilaredtube 29 while correcting for any slight misalinement, the

lupper blade 2l' being rotated through engagement of auger arm It -with astub 2| inthe manner` of the showing of Figs. 3 and 4.

r It should be re-emphasized that the instant .invention is capable of having the blades thereof extended to thel desired operating position by the yemployment of a simple attachment for the drill ing tool. Further reiterations should include mention ofthe fact that the powerful driving lmeans is automatically.' disengaged from the :blades .whenthey have been moved to their op- :erating position. yAlso,rfsincevthe blades occupy fa ratherextensive ground contacting area, and astheir expansion is aiected with minimum disturbance of `surrounding soil, any lateral moveinstallation is reduced to What is claimedis: i

1.1Inan earth anchor,'a plurality of blades, a relative to each control means encompassing the end 'of the guide pin and locatedY so as to be eccentric relative to thev pin axis, said eccentric blade motion control means being adapted to receive and locate an `anchor driving element and permit of rotation of said element thereabout,.and means for rotating the blades in sequence with the angle of rotation and being limited bythe eccentricity of the blade motion control meansto Van angular motion of where n represents the total number of blades in the stack.

2. An expanding anchor comprising a plurality of blades adapted in a closed state to be stacked one above the other, a guide pin extending through all of the blades in the vicinity of the blade periphery for locating the blades relative to one another, means for iixedly securing the lowermost blade of the stack to the guide pin, a shoulder member located at the opposite end of the guide p-in and surrounding the guide pin for longitudinally locating the stack of blades and preventing longitudinal motion of the said blades with respect to each other, said shoulder being of generally circular shape and so surrounding the upper end of the guide pin that itscenter is eccentric tot'he axis'of'the guide pin. a blade driving means forminga part ofthe uppermost blade of the stack and locatedron the upper surface of -the said blade, said shoulder -member being adapted to receive an anchor driving tool vhaving an outwardly-extending arm :adapted :to provide abutting contact with the 'blade drivingmeans in a closed-blade position, so

that with rotational?v the anchor driving tool arm the said upperblade is kcorrespondingly rotated .through an angle Vmeasured by the maximum ec- .centricity of the `shoulder 'thelguide pin, and means for connecting all'of member relative to the blades above the lowermost of the stack for rotation insequence in such manner that the uppermost blade of the stack is capable of rotation through the greatest angle and the remaining connected blades of the' stack in sequence are :adapted to be rotated through angles which are lsuccessively less than' that 'of-the upper blades.

'a plurality of blades, a guide pin for securing said blades in closely stacked relationship and extending through said blades to. permit rotation thereof about an axis eccentric:v to the center'of each blade, ablade 3. In an earth anchor,

driving means connected to the uppermost blade ofthe stack, means for flxedly locating the lowermost blade of the stack relative to the guide pin, a driving tool connectingmeans adapted to receive and locate an anchor` driving tool and to permit rotation thereof eccentrically about the guide pin so that the anchor driving to'ol in one position is in abutting contact with the blade driving means and following a rotation of the blade driving means through an angle of" where n equals the number of bladesin the stack, is permanently free lfrom abutting engagement with the blade driving means, and means for sequentially connecting the said bladesfor rotation with each blade of the'seque'nce vbeing connected'to rotate following a rotation ofv theV next uppermost located blade through :an angle of 4. The anchor claimed in claim' 3`comprising, in addition, 'a keel extending in a plane substantially normalto the vplane of the lowermost blade 'and secured to thev lowermost blade.

claim 4 comprising, in addition, an anchor rod extending through 5. The anchor claimed in ,the guide pin.

' tive to one another, means for xedly securing the lowermost disk of the stack to the guide pin, a shoulder member located at the opposite end of the guide pin and surrounding the guide pin for longitudinally locating the stack of disks and preventing longitudinal motion of the said disks with respect to each other, said shoulder being of generally circular shape and located in an eccentric position relative to the axis of the guide pin, means secured to the uppermost disk of the stack to enter into abutting engagement with the driving arm of an anchor driving tool adapted to be located by the said shoulder for rotation so that abutting contact is established with the disks in a closed position and capable of being maintained .through lan plurality of blades,

during rotation of the anchor` driving arm angle measured-by the maximum eccentricity ofthe shoulder member relative to the guide pin, and means for ccnnectingall of the disks above 'the lowermost ofthe stack for rotation in sequence in such vmanner that the uppermost disk of the stack is adapted for rotation through the greatest angle and the remaining connected disks of the stack in sequence are adapted to be rotated through angles which are successively less than that of the next upper disk.

'7. In an earth anchor of a type employing a plurality of blades adapted tobe extended from a stacked position, a guide pin penetrating the blades at a position near .eries thereof to provide an axis of extension, a flange eccentrically secured to the guide pin and a stub located on the upper surface of the top blade of the stack ata xed radial distance from the guide pin axis wherebyrotation of the top blade about the axis of extension causes the stub to follow a path of changing radial displacement from the flange periphery.

8. In an earth anchor of a type employing a successively extended from a stack, a guide pin penetrating the blades collectively at a position adjacent the respective peripheries thereof to provide an axis of extension, a flange eccentrically secured to the guide pin in abutting engagement with theuppermost blade, an uprising stub located on the uppermost blade at a fixed radial distance from the guide pin axis, and depending lugs respectively aflixed to the peripheries of the uppern-l blades lwith the location of the depending lugs being such that blade revolution about the axis of extension measured in degrees of angular displacement from the original stack position is determined in accordance with where N is a number corresponding to the blade position in the stack with N for the lowermost blade being equal to 0 and N for the uppermost blade being equal to n-l.

9. In an earth anchor of a type employing a plurality of blades adapted to be extended from a stacked position, a tube Ahaving one end thereof eccentrically aA position near the respective peripheries thereof to provide an axis of extension for the blades and a stub located on'the upper surface of the top blade of the stack at a fixed radial distance from the tube axis whereby rotation of the top blade about the axis of extension causes the stub the respective periphn in number, adapted to be flared penetrating the blades at to follow a path of changing radial displacement from the periphery of the flared end of the tube.

10. The earth anchor of claim 9 including downwardly extending hollow projections positioned near the peripheries of each of the blades infsuchmanner vthat the respective projections nest in the hollows of the projections of the blades successively positioned below when the blades are stacked.

1l. The earth anchor of claim 10 wherein each of the blades includes a corrugation dening an arc of a circle having the center thereof along the axis of blade extension and radially displaced therefrom to permit nesting of the corrugations when the bladeslare stacked.

l2. An expanding anchor comprising a plurality of blades adapted in a closed state to be stacked one above the other, a tubular member having a smaller external diameter at one end portion than at the other end portion thereof and the centers of said portions being radially displaced, said smaller diameter end portion extending through all of the disks in the vicinity of the disk circumference for locating the disks relative to one another and a stub secured to the uppermost blade of thestack at a xed radial distance from the axis of said smaller end portion whereby rotation of the uppermost blade causes the stub to follow a path of changing radial displacement from the periphery of the larger diameter end portion.

13. An expanding earth anchor comprising a plurality of blades adapted in a closed state to be stacked one above the other, a tubular member having a smaller external dimension at one end portion than at the other end portion and the centers of said portions being radially displaced, said end portion ofr smaller dimension extending through all of the disks in the vicinity of the disk circumference for locating the disks relative to one another and a stub secured to the top blade of the stack at a fixed radial distance from the axis of the end portion of smaller dimension whereby rotation of the top blade causes the stub to follow a path of changing radial displacement from the periphery of the end portion of greater dimension.

ROY O. MEAD. CHARLES GRUNSKY.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 975,543 Lichtenberg Nov. 15, 1910 1,899,520 Nettenstrom Feb. 28, 1933 

